3 week old puppies

🐾 3 week update 🐾

Exciting news - we are now accepting applications for upcoming litters! silver grey CKC registered male and female weimaraner puppies are available for families from future litters! Send us an email or submit an application form to inquire about our puppies and how we do things to see if we are a good match for your Loyal Companion.

Back to our update. Our litter was 3 weeks old Sunday and I thought I'd share where they are in the development stage and what we are doing with them! So many changes happen this week! The first two weeks are sensitive and many things can go wrong. We breathe a sigh of relief when everyone is thriving at the two week mark! We have passed that stage and are happy everyone is well! It is very important for puppies to feel safe under their moms care for two solid weeks. Back when we first started raising Weimaraners we didn’t understand the importance of this and we definitely packed them around too much. Now we know the importance of that deep bond and feeling safe with their mom that sets a strong foundation for their whole life and we honour that - even though it’s hard to not snuggle tiny pups all day! Know that they are three weeks and have entered the transitional period we can snuggle them more but still in their whelping box and nursery. We only take them out for daily cleaning and handling exercises then return them to their safe place. We sit in there often and love when all the pups pile into our lap for a nap ❤️🐾 

We conducted our brief loud noise exposure on days 18, 19, and 20. Their ears have opened and they do not yet fear loud sounds. We use this opportunity to get a jump start on making loud sounds a normal part of life. As puppies develop their senses it is important to introduce them to a variety of sounds they may encounter in their forever homes. We play all types of music as well as movies and other sounds throughout the time they are with us. This helps so much for when they go home! There is so much we can do as breeders to set up our puppies for success in their new homes and we want to capitalize on all the things we can.

The puppies have completed their ENS and ESI but handling will not end there. Now we begin handling them more and in different ways. We will lightly touch their face, ears, back, belly, tail and paws. We move slow and keep them calm. We want to show them we are safe and they can trust us. This is building that incredible bond between human and pup. It is critical that all experiences are positive. The puppies are looking and acting more like puppies every day but we need to be sure careful in how much we do with them as their nervous system is still very fragile. Right now their nerves are laying down more myelin (an insulating layer that forms around the nerves) as they see, hear, feel, and taste new things. If we move too fast it can be detrimental. This is where observation comes in – we watch for what they are ready for and if we see responses that are too strong we know to back up or slow down more.

Such a fun and exciting journey but also a super important and delicate one!

We look forward to sharing more with you.